Vietnam’s coal and crude oil imports surged in the first ten months of this year, government data showed, to support its fast-growing economy.

Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia.  The strong growth has boosted demand for coal. Imports of the commodity, during the January-October period more than doubled from a year earlier to 36.8 million tonnes, valued at $3.25 billion, the Customs Department said in a statement.

The imported coal will mostly be used for the country’s growing fleet of coal-fired power plants, which will still play a key role in its power generation mix for the years to come even as Hanoi promotes renewables.

The country’s crude oil imports rose 80.6% from a year earlier to 6.8 million tonnes during the period, the department said.